On May 8, Cerf ruled the school board’s April 25 vote to place Caffrey on paid administrative leave was improper because only four of the nine members voted in favor of the action. Five others abstained. Cerf said a majority of board members had to support the move.

The board then held a special meeting on May 7, invoking what’s known as a "doctrine of necessity" that allowed those who had initially abstained to vote. This time, the board voted, 6-0, to remove Caffrey. Three members abstained.

Board members read a series of charges against Caffrey, accusing her of giving interviews to news reporters, writing articles derogatory to the district and damaging staff morale.

The board asked Cerf reconsider his May 8 decision in light of the May 7 vote. The request was denied.

"The May 8, 2012, decision was strictly limited to the board’s action that occurred at the special meeting on April 25, 2012, during which the board acted without a majority of the full membership," the commissioner’s letter said.

Cerf noted that Caffrey amended her petition to him for reinstatement to "include a challenge to that board action (the second vote) as well, including the process that the board took to invoke the doctrine of necessity."

In his letter, Cerf said he is "simply unable to make a determination to the board’s action taken at the May 7, 2012, special meeting based on the information in the current record because there are factual issues in dispute."

School board President Samuel Lebreault said he had not yet read the letter and therefore could not comment.

Caffrey, who has filed ethics complaints against two board members, has called the board’s charges baseless, and said she has been targeted for failing to hire friends of board members and for cooperating with a state investigation of the district’s free lunch program.

"Despite all the nonsense, I have had a very productive week and a half (since being reinstated as superintendent)," said Caffrey, who is in the second year of a four-year contract. "I’m happy to continue to have the opportunity to serve the children of Perth Amboy.

Caffrey has been a vocal proponent of the same brand of education changes Cerf and Gov. Chris Christie have been advocating. Both camps agree teacher tenure should be based on student performance in the classroom and that a practice known as "last-in, first-out," which protects senior teachers from layoffs, should be abolished.

The proposed reforms, however, have been unpopular with Perth Amboy’s teachers union and school board, both of which have accused Caffrey of forcing changes upon them rather than working together. Caffrey’s unwavering support for the revisions — which she has said stem from personal experience with ineffective teachers — has alienated her from her staff.

Caffrey said she has been informed there will be a special board meeting Tuesday at which time her position will be discussed.

However, Lebreault said he had not called any meeting and did not know if anyone else had.